Method and apparatus for checking an acoustic test fixture

ABSTRACT

A body has a first portion whose exterior surface is similar to that of a corresponding, first portion of a portable media device. An acoustic aperture is formed at a location that is similar to that of a built-in earpiece, speaker, or microphone aperture in the media device. An acoustic port is formed in the exterior surface of the body, and is adapted to be coupled to a sound test tool. An internal cavity acoustically couples the acoustic port to the acoustic aperture. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

RELATED MATTERS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/961,666, filed Dec. 20, 2007, entitled “Method and Apparatus forChecking an Acoustic Test Fixture”, currently pending.

BACKGROUND

An embodiment of the invention is directed to a technique for checkingor verifying the acoustic capability of a test fixture that is to beused for acoustics testing of a portable media device.

BACKGROUND

More than even before, consumers are enjoying the convenience oflistening to music, watching a video, or simply carrying on a telephoneconversation using portable digital media devices. Devices such asconsumer grade cellular telephone handsets, palm-sized or laptopcomputers with wireless data networking capability, and handheld digitalmedia players such as MP3 and DVD players, are delivering ever improvingsound quality to their users.

To verify the performance of a cellular telephone handset, including theacoustic capabilities of its built-in receiver (also referred to here asearpiece), a manufacturer typically builds or purchases a test fixturefor testing the audio and radio frequency (RF) functionalities of thehandset. Reliable test results can be ensured by first calibrating thetest fixture prior to using it for testing a device.

An acoustic measurement system or test fixture has a microphone thatneeds to be calibrated prior to use. Typically, the microphone is firstremoved from the system, and then calibrated outside the system. Areference acoustic pressure source is attached to the microphone, andthen the signal produced by the microphone is measured. The measurementis stored as a reference value associated with the particularmicrophone, and a related electronic circuit (or microphone reading) maythen be adjusted accordingly for future readings, to obtain thecalibrated response from the microphone. The microphone is theninstalled back into the measurement system with the expectation that thesystem is now ready to reliably test the media devices.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the invention is a device for checking an acoustic testfixture (also referred to as an acoustic test fixture calibrator orcalibration device). The calibrator device fits into the test fixture inthe same manner a unit-under-test would fit. An acoustic port is formedin the exterior surface of the calibrator device's body. The acousticport is adapted to be coupled to an acoustic input or output port of asound test tool. The body has an internal cavity that acousticallycouples the acoustic port to an acoustic aperture in the exteriorsurface. The acoustic aperture is positioned and otherwise adapted tomimic a corresponding aperture (e.g., a receiver aperture) on aunit-under-test. Other embodiments are also described.

The calibration procedure described in the Background section above mayaccount for microphone-to-microphone sensitivity variations (i.e.,different microphones in a given set may have substantially differentsensitivities), and microphone sensitivity degradation over time.However, it cannot account for variations in the installation of themicrophone in a test fixture. For example, there may be manufacturingvariations, among otherwise identical manufactured test fixtures, in thedistance between the microphone and the installed device under test(unit-under-test), or in leakage or other acoustic losses. In accordancewith an embodiment of the invention, accurate measurements may be morelikely across many test fixtures, by calibrating the microphone while itis installed in the test fixture, rather than first removing it from thetest fixture. Additionally, a further advantage may be obtained bymoving the “calibration reference” from the microphone plane to theplane of the acoustic output aperture of the unit-under-test. Doing soallows for acoustic pressure measurements, obtained from different testfixtures and microphones, to be accurately and reliably compared.

Use of the calibrator devices described here avoids the need to maintainseveral equal “golden” media devices, for the calibration of testfixtures that have been produced or are being used in differentmanufacturing plants. The calibrator devices are easier to manufacturethan the media devices, and it is easier to ensure that all of them areequal in terms of physical dimensions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example andnot by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings inwhich like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted thatreferences to “an” or “one” embodiment of the invention in thisdisclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and they mean atleast one.

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of an example portable media device.

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of an example acoustic test fixture for anexample portable media device.

FIG. 3 shows the test fixture in use, while a receiver acoustic test isbeing performed on an example media device under test (DUT).

FIG. 4 shows the test fixture in use, while a speaker acoustic test isbeing performed on the DUT.

FIG. 5 shows front views of the DUT and its corresponding, test fixturecalibrator.

FIG. 6 shows side views of the DUT and its corresponding, test fixturecalibrator.

FIG. 7 shows the test fixture calibrator in use, while checking theacoustic test fixture, using an example sound pressure level (SPL) meterand an example reference sound source.

FIG. 8 shows an elevation view of another example test fixturecalibrator.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a process for checking an acoustic testfixture.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this section we shall explain several preferred embodiments of thisinvention with reference to the appended drawings. Whenever the shapes,relative positions and other aspects of the parts described in theembodiments are not clearly defined, the scope of the invention is notlimited only to the parts shown, which are meant merely for the purposeof illustration.

I. Overview

An embodiment of the invention is described here in the followingsections, using an example portable media device, an example acoustictest fixture, and a corresponding acoustic test fixture calibrator.

First, an example portable media device 100 to be tested (DUT, or simplymedia device 100) is described in connection with FIG. 1. Next, adescription of an example acoustic test fixture 500, depicted in FIG. 2,is given. Its use for acoustics testing of the example media device isthen described in connection with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. Note that these areonly examples of test fixture and a DUT—the invention is also applicableto other acoustic test fixture designs and other DUT designs. In thenext section, a test fixture calibrator in accordance with an embodimentof the invention is described together with its different views in FIG.5 and FIG. 6. FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a calibrator in use, thatcorresponds to the DUT shown in FIG. 1. The calibrator description thencontinues with another example calibrator, depicted in FIG. 8. Lastly, aflow for a process of checking an acoustic test fixture, using thecalibrator, is given in FIG. 9.

II. Example Portable Media Device (DUT)

Referring now to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a media device 100 isshown. The device 100 can be detachably mounted to or interfaced with atest fixture 500 (see FIG. 2). A housing 102 includes a speaker housingacoustic aperture 122 that may be located in proximity to a lowerportion of the media device 100 (referred to here as the bottom end).The bottom end may also contain a microphone, with associated microphoneacoustic aperture 114 in the housing 102. In certain embodiments, themicrophone aperture 114 and/or the speaker aperture 122 may be locatedon a bottom face 124 of the media device 100. More generally, themicrophone aperture 114 and the speaker aperture 122 may be located onany other portion of the housing 102 that can facilitate the deliveryand reception of sound in the manner in which the device 100 is intendedto be used.

In one embodiment, the housing 102 includes a first housing portion 104and a second housing portion 106 that are fastened together to encasevarious electronic components of the media device 100. The housing 102may be made of polymer-based materials that are formed by, for instance,injection molding to define the form factor of the media device 100. Thehousing 102 may surround and/or support internal components, such ascircuit boards having integrated circuit components, internal radiofrequency circuitry, an internal antenna, a speaker, a microphone, areceiver (earpiece), nonvolatile mass storage such as nonvolatile solidstate memory and/or a magnetic rotating disk drive, as well as othercomponents. The housing 102 also provides for the mounting of a built-indisplay 108, a separate keypad (not shown), an earphone jack 116, and abattery charging jack (not shown). As an alternative to the separatekeypad, FIG. 1 shows a device that has a single touch sensitive display108 that spans most of the area on the front face of the device 100, forboth showing information to the user, as well as accepting input by theuser. In this particular embodiment, the device 100 can be used atelephony handset, where receiver/aperture 112 is positioned at the topend of the device 100 as shown, to facilitate such use of the device.

The media device 100 may include a wireless communications function,such as cellular or satellite telephony, pager, portable laptop/notebookcomputer, or other wireless communications function. The media device100 may be, for example, an iPod or iPhone media device, or a palm sizedpersonal computer such as an iPAQ Pocket PC available from HewlettPackard, Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif. In some embodiments, the mediadevice may synchronize with a remote computing system or server, toreceive media using either a wireless or wireline communication path.Media may include sound or audio files, music, video, and other digitaldata, in either streaming and/or discrete (e.g., files) formats. Themedia device 100 may also have a wireline communication connector 103,e.g. a 30-pin connector, that may be located on the bottom face of thedevice 100. This can be used to directly connect (e.g., dock) the device100 to another computer (also referred to as a docking connector).During synchronization, a host system (e.g., the computer that isdirectly connected by the wireline communication connector 103) mayprovide media to a client software application embedded within the mediadevice 100. The media and/or data may be downloaded into the mediadevice 100, or the media device 100 may upload media to the remote hostor another client system.

The primary functional blocks of the media device 100 may include thefollowing built-in components. A processor may control the operation ofmany functions and other circuitry in the media device 100. Theprocessor may, for example, drive the display 108 and may receive userinputs through a user interface (which may include a single, touchsensitive display panel on the front face of the device 100 andcircuitry to interface the microphone, speaker, and receiver). Datastorage may be comprised of nonvolatile solid state memory and/or akinetic nonvolatile storage device (e.g., rotating magnetic disk drive)that stores the different media (e.g., music and video files, functionalsoftware, preference information, e.g., for media playback, transactioninformation, e.g., information such as credit card information and otheruser authentication information, and wireless connection information,e.g., information that may enable the media device to establish wirelesscommunication with another device).

In addition to the data storage, there may be memory, also referred toas main memory or program memory, to store code and data being executedby the processor. The memory may be comprised of solid state randomaccess memory. A bus provides a data transfer path between the memory,storage and the processor. In addition, the bus may also allowcommunications with a coder/decoder (codec), which is a specializedcircuit that converts a digital audio signal into an analog signal fordriving the speaker and/or the receiver. This is designed to producesound, including voice, music and other like audio. The codec may alsoconvert sound detected by the microphone into digital audio signals forstorage and digital processing by the processor.

The media device 100 also includes communications circuitry forexternal, wireless and wireline communications. For example, thecommunications circuitry may implement Wi-Fi links according to IEEE802.11 industry standards. The communications circuitry may also includewireline network interface controllers (e.g., an Ethernet interface).These allow the media device 100 to appear and be accessed as an endnode in the Internet.

The communications circuitry may also implement wireless communicationsin accordance with standards such as Bluetooth, Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM) and/or code division multiple access (CDMA)wireless protocols. These may also allow the media device to function asa conventional cellular telephony handset, allowing its user to make andreceive wireless phone calls.

In addition, the communications circuitry may also include a directpoint-to-point interface to another computer or accessory device, suchas in accordance with a computer peripheral bus standard (e.g., USB), orvia a 30-pin docking connector.

All of the above functionality may be integrated within a single housingwhich makes the media device 100 a portable computing device that isbattery or fuel cell operated and is palm sized. In other embodiments,however, the media device 100 may be somewhat larger than palm size,e.g. a laptop or notebook computer, yet nevertheless, it is stillconsidered a personal, consumer grade, stand alone mobile computing ormedia processing device.

The primary functional blocks have been described mostly in terms ofhardware components. However, there are also several software componentsthat control and manage, at a higher level, the different functions ofthe media device 100. There may be at least two layers of user softwarein the media device. During the life cycle of the media device, one ormore of these software components may be updated to either fix errors orenhance functionality. These user software components include anoperating system, and several applications that may run on top of theoperating system. Both the operating system and the applications may beresiding in main memory while being executed by the processor. Otherarchitectures for software and the underlying hardware that will executeit are possible, e.g. a processor that is cell based with multiplecell-type processing units in a data driven architecture.

In most instances, the operating system is typically the first userlevel software that will be executed after any embedded, power onself-test routines are performed by the media device 100. After theoperating system has booted, one or more applications may beautomatically or manually (through user command) launched, to implementthe different high level functions of the media device 100. Forinstance, there may be a cellular telephone application that configuresa built-in touch sensitive display to look like the keypad of atelephony handset, and allows the user to enter a telephone number to becalled, or select a previously stored number from a telephone addressbook. The cellular application may register the media device as acellular handset with the nearest cellular base station (using theappropriate cellular communications protocols built into the mediadevice). The application then proceeds to allow the user to make a call,and controls the built-in microphone and receiver to enable the user toexperience a two-way conversation during the cellular phone call.

Another application may be a browser application that allows the user tosurf the Web on the built-in display and speaker, using, for example,the Wireless Access Protocol over a GSM or Wi-Fi wireless link.

Still another application may be a media player application, such as anMP3 audio player. This would allow the user to select songs as MP3 filesthat have been downloaded into the media device 100, for playbackthrough the built-in speaker or earphone jack.

Yet another one of the applications may be an acoustics test applicationthat allows the user to command an audio test signal be generated in thedevice 100 and emitted through the speaker or receiver, whilesimultaneously displaying the spectral and/or sound levelcharacteristics of this generated audio test signal, i.e. its expectedspectral content and/or sound level. These may be measured by anexternal SPL meter, for instance, from the acoustic output of thebuilt-in speaker or receiver. In addition, the acoustic test applicationmay be designed to perform digital processing on an audio test signalsensed by the built-in microphone, and then to show the measuredspectral content and/or sound level on the built-in display of thedevice 100. During development of the acoustic test application, a“known good [media] device” may be used to verify that the testapplication is, in fact, measuring (calculating) correctly the output ofthe built-in microphone, in the presence of a known and calibrated audiotest signal. Similarly, during development of the receiver and speakertest portions of the test application, the software may be evaluated ona known good [media] device to ensure that it can calculate and deliverto the speaker or receiver the desired audio test signal that is to beemitted by the speaker or receiver. Other types of acoustics testapplications are possible.

III. Example Acoustic Test Fixture

Having described an example portable media device 100 to be tested, wenow turn to the test fixture. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a test fixture500 that is suitable for acoustics testing of a palm-sized, portablemedia device, such as the iPhone device by Apple, Inc., of Cupertino,Calif. However, the concepts below also apply to acoustic test fixturesfor other types of consumer grade, portable media devices includingcellular telephone handsets, laptop computers, and digital mediaplayers, such as the iPod device by Apple, Inc. In this embodiment, thetest fixture 500 is a portable, handheld unit whose flat bottom allowsit to rest stably on a horizontal surface of a countertop duringtesting. Note, however, the concepts here equally apply to larger, morecomplex acoustic test fixtures. The fixture 500 in this case is alsoadapted to act as a docking station to the portable media device undertest (DUT, or simply media device), by being connected to anothercomputer via a communication cord 514. As an alternative, this dockingconnection may be a wireless one. The test fixture 500 in general, mayinclude a platform, support structure, or device holding mechanism, toenable convenient and efficient positioning and acoustic interfacing ofthe media device with stand alone, sound test tools. In addition, thetest fixture may be designed to interface with the media device in afunctionally more efficient or aesthetically pleasing position. Forexample, the test fixture may secure the media device in a position thatallows persons who are running or observing the testing to easily readthe display of the media device during the various acoustic testsdescribed here, and not obstruct the display during the acoustic tests,while simultaneously supplying efficient acoustic channels or pathwaysthat couple the sound test tools to the respective acoustic apertures onthe surface of the installed media device.

Still referring to FIG. 2, the plan view is of an example test fixture500 that is suitable for a media device with aspects that are similar tothose of the iPhone media device. In this case, there is a first hollowor cavity 504 and a second hollow or cavity 506 formed on the topsurface of the fixture 500. These act as holsters for the media device.To test its speaker and microphone, the media device is installed bybeing lowered into the first hollow 504, bottom end first, until it isresting against the top surface of the fixture 500 inside the hollow.The first hollow is shaped to generally conform to the bottom end of themedia device so as to loosely hold the device substantially upright asshown, i.e. essentially perpendicular or slightly angled. The firsthollow is defined in part by a lower, substantially horizontal surfacein which are formed one or more acoustic apertures 510. These may beformed near one end of the hollow 504, at a location that is alignedwith one or more acoustic apertures of the installed device that areassociated with a built-in microphone, to form part of an internalacoustic pathway 521 through which an acoustic test signal is to travelfrom inside a body of the test fixture 500 into the microphone insidethe media device.

In addition to a microphone, the bottom end of the media device may alsohave a built-in speaker. In such an embodiment, the lower horizontalsurface that in part defines the first hollow 504 has also formedtherein one or more further acoustic apertures 512 at another end. Theseare at a location that is aligned with one or more acoustic apertures ofthe installed device 100 that are associated with the speaker, to formpart of an acoustic pathway 519 through which an acoustic test signalwill travel from the speaker inside the device 100 into the base or bodyof the test fixture.

In this embodiment, the first hollow 504 also has a further opening inthe lower horizontal surface, between the apertures 512, 510 as shown,through which a docking connector 508 extends from inside the body ofthe test fixture 400. The docking connector 508 mates with another one,which is built into the bottom face of the media device. The dockingconnector 508 is connected to one end of a communication cable 514 whoseother end has a further connector 516 connected to it. The latter mateswith another connector that is built into a computer (not shown).

The test fixture also has a second hollow 506 formed on its top surface,also acting as a holster for the device. The device is installed bybeing lowered into the second hollow, this time top end first, until itis resting against the lower horizontal surface of the fixture withinthe second hollow. The second hollow 506 is shaped to generally conformto the top end of the device 100 so as to loosely hold the device upsidedown, substantially upright as shown, i.e. essentially perpendicular orslightly angled. The second hollow is defined in part by its lowerhorizontal surface in which are formed one or more acoustic apertures526. These may be formed near the middle of the hollow as shown, at alocation that is aligned with one or more further acoustic apertures ofthe installed device 100 that are associated with a receiver (alsoreferred to as an earpiece that, in one embodiment, may only be used fortelephony audio), to form part of an acoustic pathway 525 through whichan acoustic test signal is to travel from the receiver into the body orbase of the test fixture.

The test fixture also has a number of acoustic test ports. There is amicrophone port 520, located in this example on one external side of thetest fixture body, which may be a hole in the surface of the body thatextends into the body and communicates with the acoustic pathway 521through which the test signal is to travel into the microphone insidethe device 100. In the particular example shown, the hole is portedthrough an otherwise solid portion of the body, all the way to theacoustic apertures 510 of the first hollow (that line up with those ofthe device built-in microphone). An off the shelf reference soundpressure source 606 may be used to generate the test signal. Thereference sound source 606 may have a sound output port that simplyslides onto a tube that extends outward from the hole of the microphoneport 520.

The test fixture 500 also has a speaker port 518, located in thisexample on another external side of the test fixture body. The speakerport 518 may also be a hole (in the surface of the body) that extendsinto the body and communicates with the acoustic pathway 519 throughwhich the test signal is to travel from the device's built-in speaker.In the particular example shown, the hole is ported through an otherwisesolid portion of the body, all the way to the acoustic aperture 512 ofthe first hollow 504 that line up with those of the device built-inspeaker. An off the shelf sound pressure level, SPL, meter 604 may beused to measure the audio test signal. The SPL meter may have a soundinput port that includes a tube, which simply slides into the hole ofthe speaker port 518.

The test fixture 500 also has a receiver port 524, located in thisexample on another external side of the test fixture body. The receiverport 524 may also be a hole (in the surface of the body) that extendsinto the body and communicates with the acoustic pathway 525 throughwhich the test signal is to travel from the device's built-in receiver.In the particular example shown, the hole is ported through an otherwisesolid portion of the body, all the way to the acoustic aperture 526 ofthe second hollow 506 that line up with those of the device built-inreceiver. An off the shelf sound pressure level, SPL, meter 604 may beused to measure the audio test signal. The SPL meter has a sound inputport that includes a tube, which slides into the hole of the receiverport 524. Both the reference sound source and SPL meter may be easilyremoved from their ports by a user, so that they can be re-used withother test fixtures in the retail store.

Note that in the example embodiment of FIG. 2, each of acoustic pathways519, 521, and 525 are acoustically isolated from each other, e.g. byvirtue of the acoustic barrier effect of the material that makes up theotherwise solid body in which the pathways 519, 521, and 525 have beenformed.

In another embodiment, the test fixture 500 also has (embedded in itsbody) an earphone/headphone connector (e.g., a jack plug) which mateswith an earphone connector of the media device. This is used for testingthe earphone signal that is generated by the media device.

In addition to the test fixture 500, one or more sound tools may also bepart of the overall acoustics test system. The sound tools may includean off the shelf sound pressure level, SPL, meter 604 (see FIG. 3), andan off the shelf reference sound pressure source 606 (see FIG. 7). Thelatter emits an acoustic test signal, e.g. one or more tones, having adefined spectrum and power level, that is typically identified visiblyon the outside of the reference sound pressure source's housing (e.g.,“1 KHz at 114 dB-SPL”). The SPL meter 604 may have a digital displaythat indicates certain parameters of the measured sound, e.g. infrequency and dB-SPL, at its input port.

FIG. 3 shows the fixture 500 in use, during an example, receiver test.Note that the device 100 has been inserted upside down, into the secondhollow 506 of the test fixture 500. In this example, the receiver testonly calls for the SPL meter 604 to be connected to the receiver port524 as shown (the reference sound source 606 need not be connected tothe test fixture 500 during this test). The test signal emitted by thebuilt-in receiver of the device 100 may also be generated by the testapplication running in the device 100. The test application causes thedisplay of the device 100 to show the characteristics of the generatedtest signal (e.g., as spectral and sound level ranges) during the test.These can be readily compared by the user, to what is shown on thedigital display of the SPL meter 604 as being detected at the receiverport 524.

FIG. 4 shows the fixture 500 in use, during an example, speaker test.The speaker test in this case only calls for the SPL meter 604 to beconnected as shown (the reference sound source 606 need not beconnected). The test signal emitted by the built-in speaker of thedevice 100 may be generated by the test application running in thedevice 100. The test application causes the display of the device 100 toshow the characteristics of the generated test signal (e.g., as part ofspectral and sound level ranges). These can be readily compared by theuser, to what is shown on the digital display of the SPL meter as beingdetected at the speaker port 518.

IV. Example Acoustic Test Fixture Calibrator

Turning now to FIG. 5, an elevation view of an example test fixturecalibrator device 400 is shown. The calibrator device 400 is shown nextto its corresponding media device 100 (to be tested). As explainedbelow, use of the calibrator 400 to check the test fixture allows the“plane of reference” for calibrating the test fixture to be, forinstance, the output of the receiver of the media device 100, at theaperture 112. This helps better identify those manufactured testfixtures that are non-conforming.

The body of the calibrator device 400 has a first portion 433 whoseexterior surface has shape and dimensions that are similar to those ofthe exterior surface of a corresponding portion of the media device 100.Thus, in the example here, the first portion 133 of the media device 100is the region above the top edge of the display 108. A correspondingportion 433 of the calibrator device 400 is shown. In addition, areceiver acoustic aperture 112 is formed in the exterior surface of thefirst portion 133, in this example centered on the front face of thefirst portion 133. Similarly, the portion 433 of the calibrator has anacoustic aperture 412 formed on its front face, and is located (relativeto the periphery of the portion 433) similarly as the receiver aperture112 (relative to the periphery of the portion 133). Note that the shapeof the aperture 412 and its location need not be exactly the same as thecorresponding aperture 112. What is desired however is that the shapeand location of the aperture 112, as well as the shape and dimensions ofthe calibrator device 400, be consistent across a number of copies ofsuch calibrator devices, to ensure consistent acoustic performanceacross all copies.

In this particular example, the body of the calibrator device 400 alsohas a dummy connector 403 (also referred to as a DUT-like connector)built into its exterior surface, corresponding in shape, dimensions andlocation to the actual connector 103 of the media device 100. The dummyconnector 403 is an alignment mechanism, rather than an actualcommunication connector, that helps better fit or key the calibratordevice 400 to the test fixture 500, in the same manner as the mediadevice 100. Again, the shape and dimensions of the dummy connector 403need not be precisely the same as that of the actual connector 103.However, they should be consistent in each of the calibrator devices, toensure equal acoustic performance between all copies of the calibratordevice 400.

The body of the calibrator device 400 also has an acoustic port 415formed in its exterior surface, shown in the side view of FIG. 5 in thisexample as extending out from the rear face of the calibrator device400. The acoustic port 415 is adapted to be coupled to an acoustic inputor output port of a sound test tool, such as the reference sound source606 (see FIG. 7). The port 415 could be located elsewhere on the body,so long as a sound test tool can be easily coupled to it for checkingthe test fixture, and then decoupled once the test fixture has beenchecked.

The body also has an internal cavity 413 as shown that acousticallycouples the port 415 to the aperture 412. The internal cavity 413 may beengineered in terms of shape, dimensions, and/or internal wallmaterials, so as to provide the needed acoustic couplingcharacteristics. The internal cavity 413 may consist of a set of simple,intersecting bores; one or more bores may have enlarged sections. Again,consistency in the construction of the internal cavity is importantacross all copies of the calibrator device 400.

The body of the calibrator device 400 may be precision manufactured intwo pieces, namely a front face piece and a rear face piece, that arejoined together along the side periphery as shown. Each piece may bemachined out of a chunk of fairly rigid, acoustic barrier material, suchas aluminum. One half of the internal cavity may be machined out of theinside face of each piece, so that the internal cavity is formed whenthe two pieces are joined together. The pieces may be joined together bya snap fit, bonding or other suitable mechanism. One or more bores maybe drilled into a front wall (of the front face piece) to form theaperture 412. Similarly, one or more bores may be drilled into a rearwall (of the rear face piece) to form the port 415. A short extensiontube may be threaded into or otherwise attached to the bore that is madein the rear face, to result in the particular shape of the port 415shown in FIG. 6. Other ways of manufacturing the body of the calibratordevice 400 are possible.

Turning now to FIG. 7, this is a diagram of the calibrator device 400 inuse, while testing the receiver acoustic pathway of the test fixture500. The output port of the reference sound pressure source 606 isconnected to the port 415 of the device 400. The top portion of thedevice 400 has been inserted into the hollow 506 of the test fixture 500(see FIG. 2). The input of the SPL meter 604 is connected to the port524 of the test fixture 500 (see FIG. 2). The reference sound pressuresource 606 is thus acoustically coupled, via the device 400 and theacoustic pathway 525, to the SPL meter 604 (see FIG. 2). The device 400,and in particular the aperture 412, mimics the receiver aperture 112 ofthe media device 100 that will be tested using the test fixture 500.This arrangement allows the measured, calibration microphone level(measured by the SPL meter), to be relative to a known, DUT acousticoutput pressure while in the test fixture 500 (the latter being providedactually by the calibrator device 400, rather than an actual DUT). Themeasured calibration values may thus account for most if not allvariations in the acoustic measurement system, including those from testfixture 500 manufacturing variations, device positioning, microphoneangle, acoustic leaks and path losses, cable connector and back stoppositioning and rotations, as well as microphone sensitivity.

The calibrator device 400 may have more than one acoustic port, so as toallow it to be used for checking or calibrating multiple measurementmicrophones on the test fixture 500. Referring now to FIG. 8, anelevation view of such a calibrator device 400 is shown. In this case,the device 400 has two additional acoustic ports 419 and 417 on theexterior surface of its body, each being adapted to be connected to arespective sound test tool. Port 419 in this example is adapted to becoupled to the reference sound pressure source 606, and is acousticallycoupled via internal cavity 420 of the body, to an acoustic aperture423. The latter is formed on the exterior surface of a different portionof the body of the device 400 (different than the first portion or topportion 412, see FIG. 5), namely one corresponding to the speakeraperture 122 in the media device 100 (see FIG. 1). Installing thecalibrator device 400 into the test fixture 500 so that the aperture 423is aligned with the aperture 512 (see FIG. 2), and attaching the soundreference source 606 to the port 419, may mimic the DUT (media device100) producing a sound test signal that is acoustically coupled throughthe path 519 and out of the test fixture 500 into the attached SPL meter604 at port 518.

As to port 417, it is adapted to be coupled to the SPL meter 604, and isacoustically coupled via internal cavity 418 of the body, to an acousticaperture 421. The latter is formed on the exterior surface of adifferent portion of the body of the device 400 (different than portion412 and the one in which the aperture 423 is formed), namely onecorresponding to the microphone aperture 114 in the media device 100(see FIG. 1). Installing the calibrator device 400 into the test fixture500 so that the aperture 421 is aligned with the aperture 510 (see FIG.2), and attaching the SPL meter 604 to the port 417, may mimic the DUTmicrophone (media device 100) receiving a sound test signal that isreceived into the test fixture 500 from port 520 and acousticallycoupled through the path 521 and out of the test fixture 500 into theattached SPL meter 604.

Additionally, the acoustic ports and/or internal cavity of thecalibrator device 400 may incorporate acoustic resistance by way ofchannel compression, foam, mesh, screen, or channel bends. Such acousticresistance may facilitate the operation of the reference sound pressuresource 606, by providing necessary back-pressure, and can match theacoustic path resistance of a real DUT. By adjusting the acoustic pathresistance, the sound output level of the calibrator device 400 (e.g.,out of the aperture 412) can be adjusted to more closely match that ofthe DUT (e.g., out of the receiver aperture 112).

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a process for checking a test fixture, suchas the test fixture 500, using a calibrator device, such as thecalibrator device 400, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. The process described here may be repeated during themanufacturing of a number of such test fixtures, to for instance checkeach one of the manufactured specimens. The process begins withselecting one of possibly several acoustic pathways of the test fixtureto verify (block 902). A calibrator device having a portion whoseexterior shape and dimensions mimic those of a corresponding portion ofthe intended media device under test (DUT), is selected (block 904).That portion of the selected calibrator device fits with the testfixture, in the same way as the corresponding portion of the DUT would.This portion is one that is associated with the selected acousticpathway to be checked. For instance, the DUT may have telephonycapabilities, and as such the selected portion of the test fixture toverify may be the one corresponding to an end of the DUT in which areceiver aperture (earpiece aperture) is formed.

The selected calibrator device is then installed to the test fixture(block 906). Care should be taken that the calibrator device has beencorrectly fitted to the test fixture. If the fit is visibly off, thenthe test fixture may need to be re-worked or, depending on the nature ofthe defect in the test fixture, scrapped.

If the fit of the calibrator device is acceptable, then an acousticinput or acoustic output port of a sound test tool is coupled to anacoustic port of the calibrator device (block 908). The calibratordevice has an internal cavity that acoustically couples the acousticport to an acoustic aperture on its exterior surface. The latter is nowaligned with an acoustic aperture of the test fixture (for acousticcoupling purposes). Thus, in the example here, the acoustic aperture ofthe calibrator device, which corresponds to the receiver aperture in theDUT, is aligned with the corresponding receiver testing aperture in thetest fixture. In this case, to test the receiver pathway of the testfixture, the sound test tool that is coupled to the acoustic port of thecalibrator device may be an off the shelf reference sound pressuresource.

Once the coupled reference sound pressure source has been turned on andis emitting it's reference sound test signal, the sound test signal ispropagating into the acoustic port and through the internal cavity ofthe calibrator device, and then out through the aperture of thecalibrator device. The sound test signal is then propagating into thetest fixture through the corresponding aperture. The test signal is thenmeasured (block 910). This may be done in different ways. For instance,in the example test fixture 500 described above, the sound test signalmay first propagate out of the body of the test fixture 500, beforebeing detected in some form (e.g., by an SPL meter 604 that is coupledto an acoustic port in the body of the test fixture 500). Thecalibration values for this test fixture specimen are then noted orstored, e.g. the power and spectral characteristics of the sound testsignal generated by the reference sound source 606, and the reading bythe SPL meter 604 (block 912).

The above process operations in blocks 906-912 may be repeated, i.e. thesame, selected calibrator device may be applied to a set of multiplespecimens of the test fixture. These sound test signal measurements (forthe set of two or more test fixtures) can then be compared and/oranalyzed, and on that basis it is determined which ones of the testfixtures may need adjustments or should be scrapped altogether (thefailing group), and which ones are consistent with one another or areclose enough to a predetermined reading (the passing group). The passinggroup, and not the failing group, may then be used “as is” for actual,receiver testing of DUTs.

Although the above example process checks the acoustic performance ofthe test fixture as it relates to a built-in receiver (earpiece) of themedia device 100, the concept is also applicable to check the acousticperformance of a test fixture associated with other acoustic functionsof the media device, e.g. microphone and speaker. For test fixtures thatcan test more than one acoustic function (e.g., the test fixture 500which can verify receiver, microphone and speaker functions of the DUT),a single calibrator device may be devised to verify those test fixtureswith respect to all of the acoustic functions. In that case, a passingtest fixture may be one for which the above process has been performedfor each and every one of the different acoustic functions, and the testfixture has passed each and every one of the different acoustic functionchecks with the same calibrator device.

The invention is not limited to the specific embodiments describedabove. For example, the internal cavities 413, 418, and 420 in the bodyof the calibrator device 400 are depicted in FIG. 8 as being separatefrom each other. However, they may alternatively be open to each other,for example as part of a single contiguous internal cavity. They alsoneed not have any enlarged sections as shown, but instead could be madeof simple intersecting bores. Also, the above described use of thecalibrator device 400 to check the particular test fixture 500 is justan example. The calibrator device 400 may in general be used to checkother types of acoustic test fixtures that can be used for acousticstesting of the media device 100, including more complex test fixtures.Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the claims.

1. A method for checking a test fixture, the test fixture to be used foracoustic testing of a portable media device under test (DUT), the methodcomprising: a) installing a calibrator device to cooperate with the testfixture, the calibrator device having a portion whose exterior shape anddimensions mimic those of a corresponding portion of the DUT so that thecalibrator device fits with the test fixture in the same way as the DUT;b) coupling an acoustic input or acoustic output port of a sound testtool to an acoustic port of the calibrator device, the calibrator devicehaving an internal cavity that acoustically couples the acoustic port toan acoustic aperture on its exterior surface, the acoustic aperture ofthe calibrator device being aligned with an acoustic aperture of thetest fixture for acoustic coupling purposes; and c) measuring a soundtest signal that propagates through the test fixture, through theinternal cavity of the calibrator device, and through the acousticapertures of the calibrator device and the test fixture.
 2. The methodof claim 1 further comprising: making a plurality of sound test signalmeasurements as per c), using the same calibrator device as applied to aplurality of test fixtures, respectively; comparing the plurality ofsound test signal measurements; and determining which ones of theplurality of test fixtures need adjustments, based on the comparing. 3.The method of claim 1 wherein in b), said coupling comprises connectingan output sound port of a reference sound pressure source to theacoustic port of the calibrator device, the method further comprising:coupling a sound pressure level meter to an acoustic port of the testfixture that is acoustically coupled by the test fixture to the acousticaperture that is aligned with the calibrator device.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 wherein in b), said coupling comprises connecting an input soundport of a sound pressure level meter to the acoustic port of thecalibrator device, the method further comprising: coupling a referencesound pressure source to an acoustic port of the test fixture that isacoustically coupled by the test fixture to the acoustic aperture thatis aligned with the calibrator device.
 5. A method for checking a testfixture, the test fixture to be used for acoustic testing of a cellulartelephone handset under test (DUT), the method comprising: a) installinga calibrator device to cooperate with the test fixture, the calibratordevice having a portion whose exterior shape and dimensions mimic thoseof a corresponding portion of the DUT so that the calibrator device fitswith the test fixture in the same way as the DUT; b) coupling anacoustic input or acoustic output port of a sound test tool to anacoustic port of the calibrator device, the calibrator device having aninternal cavity that acoustically couples the acoustic port to anacoustic aperture on its exterior surface, the acoustic aperture of thecalibrator device being aligned with an acoustic aperture of the testfixture for acoustic coupling purposes; and c) measuring a sound testsignal that propagates through the test fixture, through the internalcavity of the calibrator device, and through the acoustic apertures ofthe calibrator device and the test fixture.
 6. The method of claim 5further comprising: making a plurality of sound test signal measurementsas per c), using the same calibrator device as applied to a plurality oftest fixtures, respectively; comparing the plurality of sound testsignal measurements; and determining which ones of the plurality of testfixtures need adjustments, based on the comparing.
 7. The method ofclaim 5 wherein the coupling of the acoustic input or output portcomprises: coupling the acoustic output port of a reference soundpressure source to the acoustic port of the calibrator device.